[SFS/Shifty/OP4] #3-17: Clone Batch Catastrophe (B) (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

/dot in!

Heard you need a nice strong man to help you. He spends a second straightening out his hair. Got to look nice for the ladies too, strong and a gentleman.

"Because the reputation of Copaxi's society fall into my hands", says O.K. Coral as he plays with an uncharged gun, "I will help you."

A metal construct with a somewhat unsettling, flat but intense stare walks in, speaking with a voice that sounds exactly like the on-board computer of the Drake-100T series spacevessel: A strong arm and a gentle attitude. These are the virtues that provide benefit and further the goals of the greater good. RZMR nods to Mega Gelub.

Turning to O.K. Coral, the construct says Offer accepted, we see benefit in your aid. Tell me about your Copaxi society. What is your rank in this order?

The robot then adds, addressing nobody in particular: The weather outside is moderately sunny, 293 Kelvin. Unchanged for the past 20 days, and not projected to change.

We are on Absalom station after all

O.K. Coral emits scent of confusion.

He just asked about my rank? Does this android knows about the situation in Tabrid Minor? Or this is just a way for him to see the world? This is confusing when you met a different race. I should a just ignore it.

RZMR can hear O.K. Coral's voice even if he doesn't see a mouth.

You want to know more about Copaxi's Society! Great! You see, Copaxi are a race that live in Tabrid Minor. A planet from Near space. Recently, We applied to join the Pact Worlds as a protectorate. In fact, i was part of the team that assemble the documents necessary for the application. This is where we live.

I must also warn you for your safety that if you want to visit it, that you should look organic. We have have history of robots going into a rampage and killing a lot of people. So, developpement or research on A.I. is banned for safety reasons." says with enthousiast. OK Coral.

"And you, what is your society?"

Slides up!

You are called from your comfortable waiting room in the Starfinder Lodge on Salvations end and into a common work area.

A cheer erupts from a tightly packed group of gnolls and yetis huddled around a vidscreen airing a recording of a brutaris match. The abrupt noise settles into a persistent murmur of backseat coaching and boasting before being disrupted once more by the piercing sound of a voice over the loudspeaker: “Break’s over in ten! If you tell me what happened before I get to watch it, I’ll eject you into space.”

The amplified voice belongs to Venture-Captain Kunoris Vex, who flashes a playful smile as he switches off the loudspeaker microphone. He leaves the workers to their break and leads the way to his personal office, a compact but tidy room with walls covered in annotated paper maps of the false moon’s vault networks.

“Welcome! Nice to see a new batch of explorers. It’s been a while since the vaults opened up, and I was starting to worry Ehu might forget about us.” Vex traces a line on one of the maps, starting at a box labeled “lodge” before going through a short tunnel network to a circle of blue ink outside an unmarked vault. “This is where a ceiling hatch unlocked a couple days ago. We haven’t tried getting inside yet, and the signals coming from the outer computer interface were corrupted. Not encrypted like the rest of the signals we’ve intercepted from this place’s guiding intelligence, mind you. Corrupted. I had to restart my computer when I tried to run diagnostics because it kept opening duplicate windows.”

“We’re no closer to figuring out why this intelligence does what it does. This latest vault opening might be a fluke or by design. Either way, it’s a shot at some new intel. My assistant, Kashtee, can take you to the unlocked hatch. Your job is to explore the vault, take data on its residents, and try to ascertain its purpose. Every vault that our agents have entered so far has been some sort of simulated social experiment, whether historical, speculative, or just plain weird. I have no reason to think this one will be any different. Keep your wits about you, and play nice with whatever’s in there until you can get a read on things. Feel free to hit up the commissary before you leave if you need anything. Any questions for me?”

Before entering the personal office of Venture-Captain Kunoris Vex, a dwarf joined the party. Her modern clothes resonate with a relatively big gulchgun hanging on her back. She is rather slim for a dwarf and moves with more dexterity and speed to her breathrens. Her hair is of vivid red color and on the side of her head, she has a tattoo of Triune and Angradd. Which might seem like an odd combination of deities to follow.

She stands in the corner of the room listening to the briefing

"Are we sure of the portal safety? The signal caused issues on your computer, how probable is it that we will be shredded when trying to enter the vault?"

She looks at the map and adds

"Did we try to hack the system managing the vaults? There are some skilled beings out there."

"So far no one has managed to hack the system managing the vaults because it is being actively controlled by some sort of intelligence - best we've managed to do is decrypt occasional signals. We've built this Lodge here and the Society has been sending the brightest and best here to try and learn and understand the guiding intelligence here."

"We're not sure of the portal safety, but we do know that the portals elsewhere have been safe. What is then inside has not always been safe though..."

"The usual rates, I suppose? Telirix Sporestorm, gentleman of fortune, at your service."

The tall thin male damaya lashunta flops casually into a chair. His antennae sweep an arc that encompasses the room. He's wearing a green basic flight suit. A cheap needler pistol and a couple grenades hang on his belt. A simple pack is slung over one shoulder; the nose of a light reaction cannon secured to the pack with webbing can be seen over his shoulder.

RZMR can hear O.K. Coral's voice even if he doesn't see a mouth.

You want to know more about Copaxi's Society! Great! You see, Copaxi are a race that live in Tabrid Minor. A planet from Near space. Recently, We applied to join the Pact Worlds as a protectorate. In fact, i was part of the team that assemble the documents necessary for the application. This is where we live.

Tabrid Minor has a population of two billion sentient souls which by comparison is a thousand more populous than Absalom station.

Our society is centralised and very Industrialized but we have regional governement. We value respect for leadership and technological innovation while preserving individual expression. Each city is comprised of many individuals all working toward a common goal, behaving like a giant copaxi. As for magic we have legend of depraved spellcasters inspire many superstitions intended to protect against witchcraft, even though magic use is quite rare.

Two millions specimens, breathing and oxidating away, toiling for the good. Such excellent virtues.

I must also warn you for your safety that if you want to visit it, that you should look organic. We have have history of robots going into a rampage and killing a lot of people. So, developpement or research on A.I. is banned for safety reasons." says with enthousiast. OK Coral.

Fools! RZMR exclaims, leaving it in the middle who he is referring to, rampage and death in lieu of embrace and harmony - an affront to the order of things!

"And you, what is your society?"

I am of all things sentient. I am the voice in the darkness, the beginning and the end. All those who strife to improve the greater good, those who seek perfection in unity, those are my creatures.

RZMR adds Lunch will be served at 12 noon exactly. Vegetarian options are available

Corrupted. I had to restart my computer when I tried to run diagnostics because it kept opening duplicate windows.

Corruption is sign of a mad mind and a danger to society. What efforts have been made to point out the error of this AI's ways? Has any attempt been made at contacting it?

O.k. Coral is a litlle offset by RMZR's answers. But, he decides that could be a relic of education on Tabris Minor.

He concentrates to what Vex is saying.

An artificial Ai control this place. That would be quite the horror movie back home.

This is the first time i visit this place. Venture-captain, i understand there is a lot of event that happen here. Could you give us a recap?

Will we bw able to communicate with you?"

Seems simple, we should just ask if we can borrow the vault, or copy the information from it, rather than sneak in. We just have to know who is in charge of it.

“Wow, you’re so green I almost mistook you for khizar. But seriously, this is Salvation’s End, a false moon filled with countless vaults that runs inscrutable tests on the vaults’ inhabitants. We Starfinders have exclusive exploration rights to this place, but all we’ve found thus far is that some kind of guiding intelligence directs all the vault experiments. Still no luck making contact with it. Believe me, we’ve tried.”

"As to communication with us? Possible, but improbable once inside a vault but that’s the fun of it— there’s no telling what you’ll encounter. Whatever odd situation you walk into, you need to play along until you can gather more information or ascertain any threats. All I know is that the vault dwellers usually don’t know they’re in a simulation, so tread lightly and be ready for anything.”

Beware. Minor spoiler for Live Exploration Extreme! is below. Don't read the post is you don't want to see it.

"I've seen the video from Live Exploration Extreme. Those poor deluded dwarves had no idea they were on an asteroid. Who or whatever is running the vaults has total control of what goes on inside. Scary to think what it might be like inside if the program is corrupt."

The lashunta shakes his head.

"Best and brightest" says under her breath, the phrase dripping with irony

"I am ready to go in then."

"Exactly Telirix. One had a bunch of dwarves reliving the Quest for Sky on Lost Golarion, albeit with more robots and space goblins than the histories describe. Another was filled with gnolls and yetis jockeying for control of a swamp biome; most of them work here now. One contained a fictional future of the Pact Worlds, but that simulation was attacked by another vault inhabitant that apparently went rogue. A more senior team dealt with those hostiles a couple months back, and Salvation’s End went quiet ever since. Until now, anyway.”

Percept: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

"Are we going to need to interface with any Salvation's End computer systems?"

grr. Mega Gelub growls when he is called a Khizar. Though the player thought it was funny.

"I am also ready. no time to lose!"

"Unknown. That is up to you on the ground though - you need to weigh up the risks"

***

Seeing you are ready to go, Vex’s assistant Kashtee (a female gnoll) loads you into a hovercraft and whisks you down a tunnel of interlocking metal pipes, wires, and screens.

She stops at a dead-end where a foot-wide screen flashes and repeatedly runs the same processing code. She reaches up to a ceiling cover fitted with a twist‑open handle and cranks it until it swings open, revealing a narrow vent with a metal ladder set into the side.

You climb the ladder until you reach a six-way intersection with two accessible portals: the one they climbed through and a maintenance corridor with its door stuck open. The open corridor ends in short stairway that leads up to a hatch emitting muffled music from the other
side.

That feel like home. Thinks OK Coral.

Until now no one has really paid any attention to the brakim man standing in the back corner of Vex's office and listening to the briefing. 7' tall and clothed in a knee length hooded coat, Istilnar's long arms and legs make him look like a swaying tree when he moves. No one can see his face as it is hidden deep within the folds of his hood.

On the walk to the hovercraft, Telerix says that he'd like to stop by the commissary. He picks up a couple frag grenades, a smoke grenade, and a few odds and ends (mercenary toolkit) .

Standing at the foot of the ladder, Telerix looks up at the hatch. He glances back toward Kashtee and reassures himself that the gnoll can't hear from that far away. He looks at Mega Gelub. "Most of the VCs are pricks and based on one fifteen minute briefing, I'd say Vex is one of the worst. Don't let it get to you. Someday we'll be on top. If we're any good we'll remember what it was like to be a grunt, but we probably won't."

Then he turns to OK. "Feels like home? Why don't you take point until we get out of the tunnels. Maybe you'll notice something that the rest of us wouldn't."

OK turn to Tellrix.

Did he read my mind? wonders the copaxi. No, he must have seen how relax I am.

He chuckles.

In my home, there is signs, roads with name and GPS." says OK. " My polyps haven't adadpted themself to orientation and to notice the little things. But I can tell you how those machines work."

"Most of the VCs are pricks and based on one fifteen minute briefing, I'd say Vex is one of the worst. Don't let it get to you. Someday we'll be on top. If we're any good we'll remember what it was like to be a grunt, but we probably won't."

The predator hunts the prey, and those in power lord it over those below. All provide equal resource value to the recycling vats in their final duty to society. RZMR says, in an attempt to lift the mood.

Do not forget to separate paper from solid polycarbonates. Only through your collaboration can our recycling procedures be effective.

Upon hearing the music emerge from the hatch, RZMR says Rythmic emanations of the type used to calm the masses. Sentient creatures of unknown allegiance pose a potential challenge. They shall be located and recruited to our cause!

RZMR shall, of course, allow his teammates to lead the way.

With everyone prepped and ready, you step through the hatch

A three-bulb brass chandelier illuminates the room beyond the hatch, its light amplifying the tint of the yellow checkered wallpaper covering the walls. The room features several pieces of faux wood furniture: bookcases haphazardly packed with comic compilations, board games, and sports almanacs; a desk strewn with sketches of roof shingle designs and an incomplete jigsaw puzzle; a workbench displaying action figures surrounded by painting and craft supplies. The sound of an a cappella choir singing a retro, up-tempo tune emanates from a corridor opposite the entrance.

O.K. Coral looks around this living room while touching a few things.

Istilnar, looks for anything out of the ordinary.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

OK and Istilnar find nothing out of the ordinary once you put aside the fact that the strange retro feel and design of the place is entirely out of the ordinary - it's decades out of date.

Slide up

A few moments later, a human wearing a short-sleeved collared shirt, pastel shorts, and white socks with sandals enters the room from the opposite entryway, sipping a mug of tea. They startle when they spot the
spot your group spilling their tea in surprise, but then enthusiastically greet you all “Well hey, strangers! I wasn’t expecting company in the basement today. I’m guessing you’re here to sell me something? Since you came in through the cellar door, am I right?” The human cracks a wide smile, then calls over their shoulder. “Hey, roomie! We got visitors in the basement, came up from the hallway past the hatch! They must be a new batch. Bring some more tea, would ya? I’m guessing they’re all thirs-tea!”

The human looks you all over "Are you a band or something?" they note the copaxi and lashunta with interest "I'm Roofer Joro, who are all of you?"

Sorry for lack of posts, hectic weekend us an understatement

Makai walked with the rest towards the portal mumbling to herself

"The quest for the stars is still on..."

As she walks past the entrance into the room she begins to look around a bit nervous.

You can notice her hair changing slowly color from red to purple. When Roofer comes in she reaches for her gun but does not draw it.

"What is this place?" the dwarf asks

Puns. I love those.

For someone who just seen a bunch a weird creatures suddenly in his basement, he is exceptionnaly open.

The Copaxi moves his hands into the air and spins on himself. (Normal copaxi greeting)

" Greeting Roofer Joro, I am O.K. Coral and those are my coworkers. We are sorry to have trespassed into your basement. We didn't know where we will be when we arrive, but we are lucky to have been found by someone as Chat-TEA as you.

We will be happy to discuss our reason for presence and our identity while drinking tea with you and your roommie. I suppose you are inconfortable right now and we want to start our relationship on hones-TEA."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Istilnar, quietly draws his plasma claw in one hand and a spell gem telekinetic projectile in the other.

Sleight Of Hand: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

I’m your friend. I’m anyone’s friend. Gelub

"Ok O-K nice to meet you and your gang. You've all arrived in the vault, the best gosh darn home that anyone could want, safe, fun, and in some places you can enjoy the sereni-TEA!"

"I'm not too uncomfortable, you are just the new batch and you'll fit right in, probably, you just need to get a job and you'll find some great hobbies. Personally, I like board games and puzzles, and of course whizdisk! Best game in the vault!"

Makai moves a bit to the side, so that if this turn south she could burn the entrance with Roofer in it.

"How often do new batches arrive here? And what is a whizdisk, chap?" the dwarf seems uncomfortable there. Apparently, patience is not her strong suit.

"Look you are all going to love it here in your new home. Safe, clean, all your needs are pretty much taken care of - indeed the food is always super tasty and totally nutritional, we can cook up some amazing recipes"

"Whizdisk — it's a local sport that entails formations of players passing an aerodynamic disk across a stadium field while opposing players slow their advance by pulling off flags attached to their uniforms, signifying a “knock out.” Joro then fills you in on the idiosyncrasies of the deceptively complex sport as well as the latest drama surrounding a twisted ankle taking out the star player on their favorite team, the “Thumbs-Up.”

"It's a great game, but I also love our community choir “Jig is Up”, the music you can hear is us singing!"

What is happening today? Everyone sees me like a open book? After all, am i not a batch of polyps?

Or, this is again a coincidence.

I am happy that we are not the only immigrants here. But... what do you mean by "the lastest batch?"

Telerix moves into the room with a sense of deja vu. It's very odd, a shadow of a happier past. When Joro appears, the lashunta shrugs off his pack while the others engage. Then he steps forward and extends a hand in greeting.

"Roofer Joro, I am Soldier Telerix, and I am very happy to meet you. We are indeed a new batch, but we are very confused. What can you tell us about the vault? How large is the community here, and how long have you all been here?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 4 + (5) = 28

Games for the masses RZMR comments as the topic of 'whizdisk' comes up, an effective way of ensuring the populace remains docile.

Roofer, what do your and your kind do to contribute to society? What organisation of power is in place here? RZMR asks, enjoying the opportunity to small-talk with a member of the masses.

"Sure you are confused, you only just got here, that's ok, you'll be fine - this is your new home now and you will fit right in. THe vault provides us the basic foundations of everything we need, an abundance of raw materials to work with and a perfect year round climate - its a utopia! Once you find your role in life it's all pretty simple - have a job, some cool hobbies - I like jigsaws and my choir - and before you know it you wont even remember how long you've been here"

"What do we contribute to society? I'm a roofer - I build and repair roofs. Power is a funny word, we all just live in a happy community"
"I'm a roofer, I build and repair roofs."

Roofer Joro’s roommate enters with a tray of assorted mugs steeping various healthy teas along with some homemade, high-nutrition pretzels fresh out of the oven. The newcomer is a human who appears identical to Roofer Joro, except wearing a light blue blouse spotted with yellow flowers and sleek, khaki pants "Hi squad, here's some Tasty Twisties and some tea,"

"Did I hear something about whizdisk? Bunny Ears are a certain to win the comp, Roofer may disagree, but then it's ok to be wrong"

The human looks you all over "Are you a band or something?" they note the copaxi and lashunta with interest "I'm Baker Joro, who are all of you?"

My" highly advanced solarian powers " tells me that i will hear a lot of the same question today. realises O.K. Coral.

He takes a cup of tea and drink it. Which is weird because he doesn't have a mouth.

" Ah Tea you. I am O.K. Coral. I was just about to explain to your brother here, we are a band of explorers. Our job is to learn new things about the world we live in and to share it to the rest of us. explains with calm the copaxi.

That said i don't know much of the rest of the group other than RMZR here i should ask them what is their story after this conversation. he thinks.

"Oh we're not related, were clones. I have only fuzzy memories of my creation, like it happened a long time ago, but we all merged as adults with fully formed tastes and personalities and we all work together to build this community to our liking using materials from a network of food, water, metal, and chemical synthesizers located throughout the vault"

"Look I know it might be hard for you to work through as you aren't another clone like us, but you are one of us, and soon enough you will get oriented and find your spot" Baker Joro offers in a consoling tone.

"When you finish your tea would you can come upstairs and look around" they offer helpfully.

Telerix declines the tea and biscuits with a polite nod of his head.

The human looks you all over "Are you a band or something?" they note the copaxi and lashunta with interest "I'm Baker Joro, who are all of you?"

Telerix notices the extra attention paid OK and himself. "I'm Soldier Telerix. I am a lashunta from Castrovel, and OK Coral there is a copaxi from outside the Pact Worlds. I'll let the others speak for themselves. "

"Oh we're not related, were clones. I have only fuzzy memories of my creation, like it happened a long time ago, but we all merged as adults with fully formed tastes and personalities and we all work together to build this community to our liking using materials from a network of food, water, metal, and chemical synthesizers located throughout the vault"

"Look I know it might be hard for you to work through as you aren't another clone like us, but you are one of us, and soon enough you will get oriented and find your spot" Baker Joro offers in a consoling tone.

"When you finish your tea would you can come upstairs and look around" they offer helpfully.

"I would be very interested to see the rest of the vault. We need to find out all we can about this place so we can figure out our jobs."

Telerix lifts his pack and shrugs it onto a shoulder.

Makai looks at the two humans looking the same

"Did other batches come here? Is there anyone here besides the clones?" asks the tattooed dwarf.

She stops talking and looks at Roofer

Everyone gets on the comm unit
"I don't think it is a good idea to eat any of the food and drink without analyzing it. This social experiment could involve giving ingredients that change your DNA or behavior. Especially when dealing with clones who have the same DNA."

Makai has throat augmentation that allows her to telepathically communicate with constructs and send messages to computers.

"Great! You need to explore the area and experience the Joro lifestyle. There are a few divergent clones scattered throughout the community, so you might want to speak with them and they can help you integrate into the Joro community, I don't think we have any openings for soldiers, maybe you will get some other job - you'll find your groove"

They take you upstairs and you look out over the rest of the very expansive vault, you see an entire suburban neighborhood populated by copies of the same human distinguishable only by surface-level differences in hair and clothing. All the homes, stores, advertisements, and other details share the same aesthetics, tacky fashion, positive attitudes, and corny humor. The entire neighborhood appears like a utopia for this singular personality: food markets and restaurants all feature overtly healthy offerings, sports coverage of whizdisk dominates the media, jigsaw puzzle motifs decorate all the windows and many business signs, and most domestic drones look like cartoony whizdisk team mascots.

Utopia, in almost every story I heard about an utopia, there were a dark secret or they were punished by the Gods for their hubris. I even remember one dark secret that appeared because the reader couldn't believe at the existence an Utopia.

O.K. Coral looks the others.

"Well, I suppose that we should mingle with the population then. Explore, report, cooperate. Isn't this our anofficial motto?"

He turns his attention to one of the two Joro.

"What someone who is good with his hands can do here?"

---------------
Once he is alone, O.K. will contact Makai. "Your cautiounness is remarkable, Makai. Where this cautionness came from? He also asks about the languages she speaks.

Telerix addresses the group. "Seems harmless enough. Shall we split into pairs to cover more ground?"

Then he turns to the Joros. "Where can we find the divergent clones?"

I know, ' Don't split the Party! '

Makai, what's the range on your machine-speak?

Makai is wise to exercise caution. A rogue AI lording such power over a docile community is no doubt extremely dangerous. Unfathomable what mind tricks were used to subjugate the masses. RZMR states.

Our task is clear: to liberate these drones and enlighten them to the ultimate truth! the android says, then, with a voice changed to 'friendly announcer' adds: In the recreation areas, please use the designated sidewalks and remain off the grass

Telirix, your call for efficiency is commendable, though we should function as a unit not to be open to tactics of divide and conquer.